Immunity is defined as “resistance to or protection against a specified disease; power to resist infection”. When the body is exposed to a disease or toxin that it has never seen before, the immune system kicks in and produces antibodies to help combat the illness and protect the system from future infections of the same disease. It’s one of the amazing protective functions of our bodies; our immune system.
Unfortunately, it’s not protecting us against COVID-19. For that we are depending on the brilliant minds of our doctors and research scientists. They’ve done it for measles, mumps, smallpox, influenza, polio, just to name a few. I am totally confident they will win the battle against Covid-19 too.
In the meantime, our best protection against this infection is Shelter in Place and Social Distancing. Although it’s doing what our natural immune systems can’t, it created another enemy - isolation. As humans, we are naturally social creatures. We live in community. So what can we do to protect against the negative effects of isolation? We need to build immunity for our communities.
Building “Community Immunity”
1. Your body has to stay home right now, but your imagination doesn’t!
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram. We are posting lots of beautiful photos of destinations, that you will want to visit, once it is safe to travel again.
Daydream about your Bucket List. Do research, watch videos, read travel books about that place that calls to you. Talk with your family and friends about their bucket-lists. You might be surprised to learn that your teenage son has always dreamed of surfing the waves off of Teahupo’o,Tahiti. I was there in September, just a day or so after the World Surf League’s Pro Competition. Paradise! When this is all over, let’s make those dreams come true.
2. Be thoughtful, kind and generous in your neighborhood community.
Check-in on neighbors who live alone. If you are venturing out to the grocery store, pharmacy or bank, ask if anyone needs anything. Bake 2 lasagnas or loaves of bread instead of 1 and share.
Don’t purchase and hoard supplies that you really don’t need. Be kind and generous to your neighborhood “essential” workers who are risking their own well being to provide services for us. I always thank the grocery store clerks. If it wasn’t for their selflessness, we would all be hoarding TP and other items.
If your kids are at home, brainstorm ways that they can contribute to the community. This may end up being the most valuable lesson they learn and may shape their future goals and career.
3. Stay in touch with your family and friends via phone, video chat, Zoom meetings, etc.
So many of us have our loved ones spread out around the country and even around the globe. Personally, I love that people have realized cell phones can also be used for phone calls, not just texts and email. Receiving check in phone calls and emails from the Millennials in my life, have been so touching.
Zoom cocktail parties, birthday parties, Passover Seders, religious services are all the “new normal”. Millions of people are on Zoom now, many of whom had never heard of it a month ago. Take turns sharing funny stories and reminiscing about past events. Plan for future visits, multi-generational vacations you will take. Family and friends are our most important communities. Show the love. Create memories now, that you will talk about in years to come.
4. Be a Citizen Scientist. UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco has the COVID-19 ”Citizen Scientist” Initiative.
Any adult with a smartphone can help fight coronavirus. Researchers at UCSF have developed a phone app, that is easy to use. They want to collect data from millions of people around the globe. This data will be incredibly valuable to advance the understanding of the disease. You may not be a healthcare worker, but you can help fight this, from the safety of your own home.
Just text 41411. Then in the message box, type COVID (all caps). You will get a link to sign up for the study. You’ll have to go to your phone store app, to download UCSF Eureka Research app. Install it, open it. Then sign up. You will be asked to enter some data about you. This may take 5 minutes or so. Once this is done, then every 3 days or so they will ask you to answer 3 or 4 questions about your health and exposure to other people. That’s it! Easy peasy and you are doing a great service to fight this disease. Here’s the link to the UCSF website describing the study. Let’s get this going viral!
I shared a few thoughts on how to build your own “community immunity”. Start developing your own antibodies to isolation and separation that social distancing has forced upon us. Sooner than later we will be back to “normal” and I’m hoping that it will be an even better “normal”. One where kindness reigns, we show our appreciation for each other and are grateful for incredible freedoms to explore the world again
In the meantime, take care, wash your hands, stay healthy!
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